Or What’s in a Name?

A few months after Firstborn arrived, Hubby and I were invited to a cocktail party. It was my first grownup event since the delivery, and I really looked forward to it.

As I waited for my club soda at the bar (I was still nursing), a man stepped up to me, drink in hand, and asked me what I did. I explained that I was “home with my baby.” He literally turned around and walked away without even excusing himself.

I was livid! Who was he to dismiss me in that manner?

That’s when I began to realize there really wasn’t an adequate term for my new, 24/7 career. I never called myself a housewife … I didn’t marry a building (that simply qualifies as an unnatural act to me). Plus, it completely ignores the fact that I am hard at work raising my children. Same goes for housekeeper.

Stay-at-home mom, besides being somewhat cumbersome with the hyphens and all, was entirely too passive to adequately describe how much enthusiasm I had for the job and how much effort I put into it.

I struggled with my ‘title’ for nearly a year. The inspiration came one morning via the television. Remember the commercial for the Army with the tag line “We do more by 9:00am than most people do all day?”

Like a bolt of lightning, I realized, “That’s it! I am a Domestic Commando!” Most people with paid jobs were probably just finishing the morning paper. I had done laundry, exercised, fed my child, cleaned the kitchen, and had planned meals and activities for the rest of my day. Yes – I was a Domestic Commando.

The title has really worked for me, and I have used the military operational model as inspiration and a guide. When faced with a task, I adopt the discipline and focus typical of a military operation to do the best job I can for my family.